Aircraft tire with improved high speed properties

Abstract

An aircraft tire having a folded belt construction and a belt edge strip over the folded belt construction has improved high speed properties. The belt edge strip substantially covers the top surface and/or the bottom surface of the folded belt in addition to the folded belt edges. The folded belt construction is reinforced with high modulus materials, and the belt edge strip is reinforced with low modulus materials. In a method of the invention, plies which make up the belt reinforcement package are applied to a belt building drum while the building drum is at different diameters to minimize stresses on the belt package. In a method of building a tire of the invention, a tire carcass on a tire building drum is expanded to the belt package.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An aircraft tire comprising at least one pair of parallel annular beads, at least one carcass ply wrapped around said beads, a folded high modulus belt reinforcement disposed over said carcass ply in a crown area of said tire, a tread disposed over said belt reinforcement and sidewalls disposed between said tread and said beads, a layer of low modulus reinforcement material wrapped around the folded edges of said high modulus belt reinforcement wherein said high modulus belt reinforcement comprises high modulus reinforcement cords encapsulated in rubber to form a substantially two dimensional belt ply having length and width, and said layer of low modulus reinforcement comprises low modulus reinforcement cords or filaments encapsulated in rubber to form a substantially two dimensional belt edge ply strip having length and width, and said high modulus reinforcement is a belt ply folded into a folded belt structure wherein the belt ply has a width about twice the width of the folded belt structure, wherein said belt edge strip has a width about five-eights to seven eights of the width of said belt ply and is radially below said folded belt, and the edges of said belt edge strip are folded radially above said folded belt structure. 
     
     
       2. The aircraft tire of  claim 1  wherein said high modulus reinforcement cords are aramid. 
     
     
       3. The aircraft tire of  claim 1  wherein said low modulus reinforcement cords are nylon. 
     
     
       4. The aircraft tire of  claim 1  wherein said high modulus reinforcement cords are disposed in a tire construction at an angle of ±15 to ±25° with respect to the equatorial plane (EP) of the tire and said low modulus reinforcement cords are aligned in the same general direction as said high modulus reinforcement cords and are disposed at an angle of ±15 to ±29° with respect to the EP of the tire. 
     
     
       5. An aircraft tire comprising at least one pair of parallel annular beads, at least one carcass ply wrapped around said beads, a folded high modulus belt reinforcement disposed over said carcass ply in a crown area of said tire, a tread disposed over said belt reinforcement and sidewalls disposed between said tread and said beads, a layer of low modulus reinforcement material wrapped around the folded edges of said high modulus belt reinforcement wherein said high modulus belt reinforcement comprises high modulus reinforcement cords encapsulated in rubber to form a substantially two dimensional belt ply having length and width, and said layer of low modulus reinforcement comprises low modulus reinforcement cords or filaments encapsulated in rubber to form a substantially two dimensional belt edge ply strip having length and width, wherein said high modulus reinforcement is a belt ply folded into a folded belt structure wherein the belt ply has a width about twice the width of the folded belt structure, wherein said belt edge strip comprises split belt edge layers having a combined width of about five-eights to seven eights of the width of said belt ply wherein one edge of each split layer is disposed radially below said folded belt and the distal end of each split layer is folded radially above the folded belt structure substantially completely covering the radially outer surface of said folded belt structure.